While Blockchain technology is a relatively new innovation, it has been steadily gaining recognition recently. According to Gregory Shannon, Chief Scientist of Carnegie Mellon University, Blockchain is a technology that has now found its way out of the encryption community and into other sectors as well. He states that it will be ideal for the economic systems around the world and also the healthcare and medical industry. Quantum computing effects Although encryption of data is a rather safe mode of transferring data through several networks, quantum computing could allow a third party to break through the encryption which can be an actual threat to encryption technology such as Blockchain technology. However, Shannon believes that by the time quantum computing can be used for breaking encryptions, they would have already made a quantum-resistant protocol. To do this, they must also make use of quantum computing. As long as the encryption is kept secure by the development of these security measures, data can be transferred without much risk of a breach. With Blockchain technology impacting so many parts of the globe, it is essential to make sure that the technology is very secure and safe because it contains information and important data of many people from around the world.

Hundreds of U.S. experts within defense and intelligence agencies are seeking to understand how virtual currencies like Bitcoin could undermine the U.S.’s long-standing ability to disrupt the financial networks of its foes and even permanently upend parts of the global financial system, Newsweek confirmed in a report. Juan Zarate, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and also on the board of advisers for Coinbase, told the weekly news magazine that virtual currencies pose a challenge. It runs contrary to the fundamentals of transparency and accountability that have been built over the last three decades to tackle terrorism, human trafficking, money-laundering and many other types of criminal activity. Is FBI hacking Bitcoin users’ computers? This new information will inadvertently provide an answer to the suspicion held previously that some agencies of the U.S. government have made moves that suggest Bitcoin users are being targeted for unconfirmed reasons. There were reports that a revised Rule 41 would allow the FBI to use a single warrant to hack an indefinite number of computers anywhere in the world. The rule, which will offer authorities an expansion of power over taxable pools of hidden assets such as cryptocurrencies, has been a …

Many Bitcoin users have compared the digital currency to settlement networks like Visa. However, one important technical aspect which separates Bitcoin from the rest is security. In early November, Tesco Bank suspended all user transactions after 20,000 clients lost an estimated $700 per account. A study published in the academic journal IEEE Security & Privacy, led by Newcastle University’s Mohammed Ali, revealed that an attack called “Distributed Guessing Attack” could have been used in the breach of Tesco Bank accounts. Essentially, the Distributed Guessing Attack (DGA) is a method which allows hackers and criminals to gain access to Visa credit card numbers as well as their security codes within six seconds by a process of elimination. Ali, the author of the study, stated that the process of elimination with credit card networks like Visa is made possible as they permit an unlimited number of guesses for each card data field. Ali says: “The unlimited guesses, when combined with the variations in the payment data fields make it frighteningly easy for attackers to generate all the card details one field at a time.” “Each generated card field can be used in succession to generate the next field and so on. If …

The Bitcoin Blockchain is by far the most secure and tested distributed network in the fields of cryptography and digital currencies, mostly due to its prioritization of security over flexibility and functionality. Weed growers have begun to take advantage of Bitcoin’s advanced security measures to create an unalterable repository of cannabis genomes. Over the past few years, the growth of the cannabis industry has rapidly increased as an increasing number of states and countries have begun to legalize the usage of medicinal and recreational marijuana. As such, more cannabis brokers, dealers and labs have entered the industry to serve the fast-growing market. For the sake of quality Because of this growth, labs and researchers are continuing to test and breed new strains of cannabis on a daily basis. Thus, it has become increasingly difficult for consumers to evaluate and analyze the type of cannabis strains and marijuana-related products that they’ve purchased. As the cannabis market evolved into a highly regulated and respected industry, consumers and brokers have started to question the legitimacy of certain breeds of cannabis strains and their origins. Quality of marijuana-related products has become an important factor in their pricing and reputation of weed growers and dealers. …

It is a thin line between the adequate security of personal wealth within the crypto world and an eventual inability to transfer such wealth to heirs or other beneficiaries when the need arises. The transfer of ownership of Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies from its original owner to heirs in the case of eventuality is a matter that hasn’t been properly defined within the crypto environment. Who really owns the Bitcoins? For security reasons, access to individual wallets have been designed in such a way that only one individual is legally allowed access to specific wallets. Any person who shares the details of their login, or details of how to access their wallet does so at their own risk. “You can only possess Bitcoins if you possess the corresponding private keys.” Says Michael Vogel, CEO at Netcoins. As the security design within the crypto ecosystem has focused on the protection of the wealth of crypto users, there lies the risk of losing one’s valuables in the case of eventualities such as death and incapacitation. Online wallets are hosted on decentralized platforms. In other words, these platforms are not owned or controlled by any specific individuals or group per se. Therefore, when there …

Beneath our everyday internet lurks a murky network of encrypted sites known as the Dark Web. Is it all bad? No. But it does fuel a lucrative criminal subculture that could threaten businesses and consumers. The Dark Web is an ominous network of shadowy hackers hellbent on stealing company data, overthrowing the country, and selling drugs to your kids with Bitcoin. Or is it? The hidden and encrypted internet enables hackers and activists and criminals. It’s also a wonderful source for shocking headlines and salacious YouTube stories, and a communication and privacy-enhancing platform. Powered by a network of encrypted websites and accessible only by using a complex set of security tools, the Dark Web is as intriguing as it is beguiling. To understand the realities of the hidden internet, better grab a flashlight. The Dark Web and the deep web are terms often confused and used interchangeably. The deep web is a term that refers to sites and pages unavailable to the general public and not indexed by traditional search engines, like corporate intranet sites, private social media posts, and pages with nofollow search tags. Above the deep web hovers the clearnet, the traditional internet and mobile web used by …